This work is to explore the static performance of memory in dynamic time. My friend is the protagonist in the photo, and what is recorded is a conversation between me and her about memory. This is the memory of a conversation between me and her from my viewpoint, the expression and documentation of the memory in the present time. For her, it is the experience she recalled in the past, and the memories that happened in the past are recorded through her facial expressions. The feelings you have when you see this work are memories that happened in the future.
Duan, JX. (2021) I think what I think [oil painting].
150 x 140 cm
Camberwell, London
Sort of images of work in a gallery situation
Memory: An investigation through portrait painting
Copeland Gallery Show- It's a good chance to reflect on myself as an artist.
Duan, J.X. (2021) Déjà vu [Acrylic painting] 170x150cm (shoot in Copeland gallery)
Duan, J.X. (2021) Déjà vu [Acrylic painting] 170x150cm (shoot in Copeland gallery)
1.Why do I decide to research memory in the portrait painting in the unit 3?
Reflecting on unit2, I noticed that most of my previous creations were about recording my own memories, and most of my memories were stories composed of characters and scenes. Thus, the portrait becomes the main element in my paintings.
Portrait painting is a significant genre in the art world, especially popular in traditional painting. The topic of the history of portrait painting, the culture of portrait painting, and the sociology of portrait painting can be quite controversial. Many people insist that portrait painting is a vehicle for an artist's 'subjective' and 'past' memory. However, I refute the idea that portrait painting is only influenced by the artist and the past time. Few studies truly focused on other relationships in portrait painting, especially takes memory as the entry point to discuss and analyze these relationships.
To fill this gap in the literature, this research aims to identify the impact of memory characteristics on portrait painting and humans. Portrait painting can be considered a vector of memory of the sitters, artists, and audiences, and memory be affected by people's geographic and physiological environments. Therefore, this article will use the manner of Taine Philosophie de l'Art as the method of approaching these aims to show how technical changes, combined with growing insights in cognitive science and socio-cultural transformations, have affected portrait painting’s role in communication, identity shaping, and memory.
2. Aims for Unit 3.
I try to think about the relationship between my audience and my artwork; the significance of my artwork itself-What do my artworks do? My aims in this unit are below:
1. Through the theory of "implicit memory" and "explicit memory" critically analyze two relationships: between the sitters and the artists and the viewers; and between the portraiting and the viewers and the artists.
2. Through the manner of Taine Philosophie de l'Art see the art of portrait painting in its relationship to art or craft, or to artificial intelligence.
3. To engage both practically and theoretically in the study of respectively understand and analyze the memory content existing in static and dynamic time and the relationship between them and the abstract and realistic parts of the portrait.
4. From the perspective of memory, to study how portraits arouse the emotional changes of the viewer.
5. To analyze the memory characteristics by classifying the memory content in the portrait.
6. To analyze the memory characteristics in portraits, explore how to use portraits to deal with the negative and positive memories in our hearts, and help people grow and develop better physically and mentally.
7. To seek possibilities and methods of merging the gaps between portrait painting’s role in communication, technical changes, combined with growing insights in cognitive science and socio-cultural transformations.
8. To develop a critical understanding of the characterization of socio-cultural instrumental value in the portrait painting, and to seek their existential self-value.
9. To contribute a new concept to identify portraiture memory's characteristics, and to serve unique ways of delivering and perceiving the portraiture self-expression.
Introduction:
We have been taught to believe that art is dependent on the fulfilment of aesthetic laws. But who defines these laws? People seem to have an innate compulsion to categorise artificial and natural, for example, we assume that "art" has a positive evaluation connotation that "craft" lacks(Markowitz, 1994); we also assume that "art" has a positive evaluation meaning that "artificial intelligence" lacks. But, in this paper, I argue that we should routinely group them together. Because, "Representation in art is not the result of only automatic imitation of Nature, not on the other hand of an entirely conscious selection of objective facts, but also, and much more perhaps, an activity of the associative and synthetic energies of the mind over which the artist has partial but not entire control: in other threadbare words: Poeta nascitur non-fit." (Furst, 1927, p.3) According to the concept of "implicit memory" and "explicit memory" proposed by Graf and Schacter (1985, p.501), I note that both conscious selections of objective facts and activity of the associative and synthetic energies of the mind all are the contents of memory. This research will examine what portraiture evidence there is for the characteristic of the memory. I will attempt here to deal only with the subject under three headings, viz. Consciousness, Time, and Emotions.
*The aphorism Poeta nascitur non fit expresses the view of those who take the side of nature in the ancient debate on the question whether poetry is a gift of nature or a product of conscious art or training. The problem was discussed in Greece in classical times and continued to be a subject of controversy in Augustan Rome. But though the idea is old, the aphorism itself did not make its appearance, even in a crude form, until the early centuries of the Christian era; and after that it still had to go through a considerable period of development before it was given its present succinct expression.
Duan, J.X. (2021) Beyond scared [Mix medium] 170x150cm (film in studio)
Duan, J.X. (2021) Beyond scared [Mix medium] 170x150cm (film in-studio)
I. Consciousness
Firstly, although Stanley B. Klein's article "What memory is" is evident that the initial presentation of a taxonomy of memory typically is attributed to de Biran, Cassel, etc. make a strong case that 14 centuries earlier, Augustine of Hippo organized the first taxonomy—e.g., intellectual memory, sensory memory, the memory of feelings, and even memory of memories. (2015) This study has been criticized for Hermann Ebbinghaus's definition, 'the difference between involuntary and voluntary memory, the former occurring 'with apparent spontaneity and without any act of will' and the latter being brought 'into consciousness by the exertion of will' (1885). His literature has offered more accurate classification criteria referring to memory, which is consciousness. Moreover, there is a large amount of literature on the relationship between consciousness and memory. Initially, empirical evidence highlights the influence of consciousness on the amnesiac. In the landmark study, Warrington and Weiskrantz(1970) present supporting evidence that amnesic patients can show a dissociation between recently learned task performance and recollection of the act. (Warrington EK, Wieskrantz, L. Amnesic syndrome: consolidation or retrieval? Nature 1970, 228:628–630.) Specifically, they found the phenomenon of implicit memory in research of the priming effect in the amnesiac patient. Their findings were consistent with numerous subsequent studies (Graf and Schacter, 1985; Maito, 1990; Jacoby, 1991; Mitchell, 1993; Schacter, 1995; Buchner, 1995; Zhiliang and Yiping, 1998). Existing empirical studies generally agree that implicit memory and explicit memory are two different forms of memory; furthermore, implicit memory does not change with time. This generates supportive ideas for my opinion of the first memory character in this research. Moreover, the definition of implicit memory and explicit memory by Graf and Schacter will be an important theory to support my study of memory in portrait painting.
According to their definition of two different memories, I started to think about the way to create my painting. When I bring the portraiture element in my painting, I found that I am confronting a new world, offering me new problems. It is a world split in two which with it two different conceptions of portraiture: the world that they are both more or less naturalistic and illusional in representation, and the world that with fragmentary nature of our human consciousness.
In Geta Bratescu's collage artworks I got some inspiration to feel this new portraiture world. "Many of her works address issues of the body and self-representation. She often explores her face and its expressions and incorporates self-portraits into objects or works on paper." (Redzisz, 2013)
Geta Brătescu, L’aventure. Roman Inedit (The Adventure) (1991). Collection of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest. Photo by Stefan Sava.
Daimoneasa [The Demoness], 1981 Drawing and collage on paper, 52.5 × 42.5 cm
The significantly positive function of collage works that simply feature fragments from the artist's everyday surroundings in unexpected arrangements, since imposing new meaning onto materials often intended for mass visual consumption is also a form of rebellion. Collage affords artists the means to exert control over the flood of images we are confronted with daily by usurping them and twisting, ignoring, defying, or mocking their original implications.(Busch and Klanten, 2016, p.3) Moreover, the creative form of collage is the finest way to help me to express my feeling of conscious and unconscious, of realty and fancy.
Drawing of collage, JIAXIN DUAN, 2021
Surrealism artworks contain artists' unconscious and conscious memory which are unnerving, illogical scenes, sometimes with photographic precision, creating strange creatures from everyday objects. Additionally, the painting techniques of surrealism allow the unconscious to express itself. That reminds me of Miles Johnston's painting. He uses graphite portraits to distort and intertwine subjects to visualize metaphors of the body. His paintings seem to be narrative by himself, not only helping the artist to describe a story but also telling his own story. Furthermore, it is consistent with the creative way of intertwined and contorted figures from surreal new portraits by Brooke DiDonato.That convinces me to use this way to portray conscious and unconscious memory in my portraiture.
Miles Johnston's Graphite Portraits （2018）
Brooke DiDonato's Surreal new portraits （2019）
Miles Johnston's Graphite Portraits （2019）
Brooke DiDonato's Surreal new portraits （2019）
Duan, J.X. (2021) Beyond scared (2021)
II. Time
Secondly, there is a sense of time in memory, including both sequential and disorder of time. Sequential time is dynamic and the change of ambient light confirms the time changes. Similarly, things will appear and disappear with time. For example, in portrait paintings, wrinkles will appear on people's faces despite the accumulation of time, but their youthful looks will disappear with time. Therefore, in the context of contemporary art, how will portraits in multiple media or forms be defined? Especially abstract portraits painting. What's fascinating is that portrait painting has become the carrier of the artist's implicit memory when the artist subconsciously hides the memory content of the external memory of the portrait painting and only relies on the implicit memory to create the portrait painting. However, abstract portraits portray the immutable implicit memory like a scar, which will not disappear with time. Thus, abstract portrait painting also allows the audience to imagine the external memory part of the portrait painting, which is more interesting than the traditional realistic portrait painting. On the other hand, the portrait painting is still in the disorder of time, such as Déjà vu is produced by overlapping the feeling of the past in a static time with the current still time. When viewers are touched by the portrait painting in front of them, they might have a connection with the memories of the past.
Leda Catunda's "painting objects", a combination of soft sculpture and painted fabrics, drooped down and off the walls. (Grimson, 2021)They show us her gazes back at a place of belonging, revealing a distance, both temporal and spatial, that penetrates her experience of difference. I connected her work with Dalí's 'The Persistence of Memory'. They both subconsciously abstracted time into the flowing state of "sagging form", just like the state of a candle when it was melting. That made me realize that maybe this is the artist's implicit memory unconsciously blended into their works. In their subconscious, the image and state of time is a state of "melting". And this also inspired me to use media to express the state of time in my creation. Because in my implicit memory, the state of time is like flowing water, and I can feel it can pass by.
Leda Catunda‘s FOLLOW Roberto e Gabriel（2020）
Acrylic on voile and fabric
57 x 31 cm
22 7/16 x 12 3/16 inches
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Experiments about a sense of "time"
shot in studio
Jiaxin Duan
Tanning described her work as depicting “a confrontation between the forces of grown-up logic and the bottomless psyche of a child” in a 2005 interview with Jennifer Mundy. (Tanning, 2019) This confrontation is like a confrontation between reality and fantasy content in the memory. Memories rotted away from the erosion of time, and lost those vivid details and began to mix into a fuzzy, chaotic mass. Memories happen in time but also are forgotten in time. This kind of powerlessness is in my creation, and I want to present it with a fleeting beauty. So I chose to combine programming to present and narrate my work. I collaborated with interaction designer GriffinKoo, creating a programming language by MAX/MSP software program and then projected it on my painting. The movements and sounds of the audience, through the programme, generate changes and shifts in the quality and colour of the images projected.
Tanning’s ‘Children’s Games‘ (1942)
GIF of 'Beyond Scared"
Mixed Media
170x150cm
Jiaxin Duan
2021
III. Emotions
Finally, according to Richard Semon's theory: since memory leaves traces of the excitement process -engram on the cerebral cortex (Schacter, Eich and Tulving, 1978), the existence of emotions is also attached to the memory.
Including both positive and negative moods. The artist subjectively and objectively processed and recorded their imagination of the sitter's emotions in the paintings. Then this portrait painting conveyed the emotions from the memories to the present, thus affecting the mood of every different audience. The two different emotions, negative and positive, will not be without changes as explicit memories. Because different people have different implicit memory, thus different people have different feelings about the same painting, that allows conversion between positive and negative emotion.
The emotions in these memories will change the viewer's mood by the current environment and situation of the audience: this is the function of empathy, which means the viewers will be affected by emotion in portrait painting and the artist's memories. Therefore, this type of transference in memory is also a point that I will integrate into my artistic practice to carry out research.
Hans Bellmer
The Doll, c. 1934
Gelatin silver print
10 x 12 7/8 in. (25.3 x 32.7 cm)
Hans Bellmer's sculptures always dealing with themes of abject sexuality and forbidden desire. His surrealist artworks present dark dreams and subconscious desires. (Dunn, 2021) We have another emotion and desire buried deep in our memory. Hans bellmer's work collages different parts of the body into an emotional "torso". I'm thinking about why his works rarely show limbs. Usually only a strangely shaped torso. Later, I realized that when our human body is only the torso, our human body is still life. It has lost its initiative and is established. It is difficult for you to elaborate on the emotions that Hans Bellmer's torso brings to us because when I see his works, there are strong emotional fluctuations in my mind, but it is difficult for you to accurately describe whether this emotion is negative or positive. As with the mention of "clown", does it represent sadness or joy? This is why I am particularly interested in the word "clown" in unit 3 because it seems to be a representative word of emotions and covers all complex emotions.
Duan, J.X.(2021) I am a Joker [digital painting]
The beauty in the confrontation between reality and fantasy forces of a surrealist painting is attracting me. Julie Curtiss's artworks are a significant example to show the beauty of surrealism. Even though we can't see a portrait in her works, her painting still can expos and rework female archetypes through a surrealist sense of the uncanny. Thus, I believe that facial feature is not the only way to help people show their character, identity and tell people their emotions. We can use a similar manner to Post-Impressionist painters. Mining a subject that can express our emotions from our daily life, representing its curious, small details in cropped and ambiguous, interweaving the general and specific in ways that are at once fantastical, precise and unsettling. Accordingly, I explored different ways to create portraiture.
Like my work 'Gaze yourself', the ceramic part abstracts the facial features. I was inspired by 'Schrödinger's cat' which is a famous thought experiment was devised by physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. Every event is a branch point, in different branches of the universe that are equally real but cannot interact with each other. That's like the memory in the past and present stored in a portrait, gazes back at a place of belonging, revealing a distance, both temporal and spatial, that penetrates our experience of difference.
And in my final artwork, the action of the audience, video-ed in real-time by a camera, is projected in technologically enhanced colour onto a painted canvas of disembodied body parts and anonymous portraits. So the audience, representing current, lived experience, overlays the painted sea of shifting, fragmented memories and imaginations. Here memory and real-time merge and the audience become part of the art creation. Interaction of artist, 'sitter' and audience, traditional and contemporary art technologies, and between past and present is created.
Julie Curtiss's No place like home, 2017. Acrylic and oil on panel, 24″X36″.
Julie Curtiss's D’apres l’origine du monde, 2016. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 23”X28”
Gaze yourself ceramic with oil painting, Jiaxi Duan, 40*40cm, 2021
Beyond scared
170 x 150 cm, Mixed media: Acrylic paint and oil paint, programming algorithms
I collaborated with interaction designer GriffinKoo, creating a programming language by MAX/MSP software program and then projected it on my painting. The movements and sounds of the audience, through the programme, generate changes and shifts in the quality and colour of the images projected.
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